Stagger
by somewhereinthedreams
Summary: Filling in the gap of why Mike thought he and Paige were okay after Bello attacked him in prison. Consider this a deleted scene set during Season 1: Episode 10, "King's Castle."


A/N: This is set during Season 1: Episode 10, "King's Castle." The first part of dialogue is straight from the show and consider the rest a deleted scene that explains a little more why Mike thought "after this morning, we (he and Paige) were past all that." Enjoy and let me know what you think :)

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The moment Mike staggered and had to hold onto a hideous vase to avoid falling, Paige rushed to his side. Their earlier argument and her feelings about his assignment didn't matter right now. What the hell happened to him while he was in jail? He was still recovering from when Jangles stabbed him and he looked like he was on death's doorstep.

"Hold onto me," Paige ordered. She reached out to help Mike into the living room and slipped her arm around his waist as he leaned on her. "Charlie, what happened?" She knew that Mike heading to jail to try to get Bello to make a deal was a bad idea. He could've died! Maybe she should've done something to stop him. Not that she could've stopped him. She would've done the exact same thing if she had been in his shoes.

"He's fine. Paulie!" Charlie shouted upstairs.

"Chuckie, relax. My ears work faster than my legs," Briggs said as he rushed downstairs. "Okay?"

Johnny rushed over to help her with Mike and the two of them carefully eased him onto the sofa.

"Whoa, whoa, Warren, you are unwell, my friend," Briggs said.

"The guard brought Bello in while we were sitting there. He started attacking Mike. It... it had to be an Odin thing, 'cause nobody showed up for the visitation," Charlie explained.

"Charlie, pause," Briggs said.

Paige sat down on the coffee table across from Mike, noticing that he groaned as he tried to get in a more comfortable position. Paige kept her eyes on Mike, silently assessing him for injuries. Mike was just stubborn enough to refuse going to the hospital, but she would drag him down there himself if he needed to go. Then again, there was no way that Charlie would've let him come home if he needed to go to the hospital. Unless, he was downplaying his injuries.

She frowned slightly, he looked pathetic but he would be okay. He didn't look as bad as she initially thought. He just needed to rest.

"You know, you were right. We should've never put him in there," Charlie said, her voice filled with regret.

"Yeah, you think? Tora! Tora! Tora!, huh, Mikey?" Briggs said.

Mike groaned in response.

Feeling useless, Paige went into the kitchen to get him a glass of water.

"Yeah, Mikey, I gotta move that couch," Johnny said.

Paige turned to glare at him. "Johnny," Paige said, her voice laced with a threat if he even dared to move Mike from the couch. No way in hell was Johnny moving him to figure out if he could fit a bounce house in the living room.

A cell phone ringing interrupted all of them.

"I can put it somewhere else," Johnny said.

"It's the bureau," Mike groaned and reluctantly answered the phone. "Hello? Now? Yeah, no. Yes, sir. I-I'll be right there." Mike ended the call. "That was Clarke. He wants me to come into HQ."

"For what?" Paige asked.

"He didn't say," Mike said as he slowly sat up.

"Well, if it's Clarke, it's got to be about the Bello bust, yeah?" Briggs asked.

"Son. You better pop some pills. You're about to get a medal," Johnny proclaimed.

"Hope they don't take my picture," Mike said, carefully easing to his feet.

Everyone else left the living room, leaving Paige alone with Mike. He slowly shuffled towards the door and she placed her hand on his arm. He looked at her hand briefly before meeting her gaze.

"You don't have to go," Paige quietly said.

"I kinda do."

"You just got out of the hospital! You're supposed to be resting! Not bleeding out all over the sofa!"

"I have to go in, I'll be fine. It's barely a scratch." Mike wryly smiled at her.

Paige shook her head. "You don't have to prove anything, okay? Whatever it is, can't it wait until tomorrow?"

"It can't. You know it can't."

"Fifteen minutes, okay? Just take a minute to catch your breath," Paige pleaded, her eyes welling with tears. She hated that he couldn't take the time to recover and she hated that she was this emotional about it.

Mike glanced at the couch and nodded slowly. He sat down and Paige immediately moved to his side. "Just fifteen minutes."

"Tell him you hit traffic."

"Traffic, right." He leaned back on the sofa and protectively rested his hand over his wounded abdomen.

His breathing was labored, but at least he was resting. "Do you need anything? A pain pill? Water? Something to eat? I could leave you alone," she offered. Paige was well aware of how they left things yesterday. After spending weeks trying to convince Mike that he could trust her and that she was on his side and he could tell her anything, he told her the one thing that could make her distrust him and wonder if he was on her side. He had been out of it for nearly a day and he finally trusted her enough to tell her to the truth. Or maybe it was the drugs talking. She wasn't sure, she didn't stick around to find out. If he didn't want her around right now, she would have to respect that. It's not like he could walk away. He could barely walk.

"Don't let me fall asleep too long."

Paige nodded even though Mike's eyes were still closed. "I won't," Paige promised.

He eased himself on his side and Paige scooted away from him to give him more room. Mike shifted again and ended up with his head resting on the edge on her lap. "This okay?"

"It's fine."

Mike relaxed at her words and it wasn't long before he was drifted off to sleep.

She was tempted to run her fingers through his hair, but she didn't want to risk disturbing him. He needed every second of rest he could get. Unsure on what to do with her hands, she kept one on her lap and the other on the back of the sofa. His perfectly kissable lips were slightly parted and she could feel his warm breath tickling her thigh, but it wasn't bothering her so she didn't do anything. It felt oddly normal.

Most of her time the past few days was spent watching Mike sleep. Everyone had stopped by to visit Mike in the hospital. Johnny had stayed there with her overnight and after he left, Jakes showed up. Charlie and Briggs stopped by, but she refused to leave until she saw those blue eyes of his.

He hadn't been seriously injured, mostly blood loss and stitches, but she insisted on staying. She saw the look that Charlie and Johnny exchanged when she announced she was staying with Mike overnight. She knew what they were thinking. Everyone was convinced they were sleeping together, but they weren't. Whatever this thing was between them, it was on hold for the time being. She could only deal with one thing at a time and right now, Mike was injured.

She was hurt that he lied to her. Hurt that he waited so long to tell her the truth. That he was lying to everyone. They could deal with that later.

She watched him peacefully sleep, relieved that he didn't seem to be in any sort of pain. The expression on his face seemed peaceful. He didn't look agitated at all, and she was grateful for that.

Paige debated grabbing her phone, but she didn't want to disturb him at all if possible, so instead she was left with nothing to do but examine his face. It seemed unfair that his eyelashes were nearly as long as hers, if not longer. He really was a beautiful man, not in a way that anyone would ever mistake his features for a woman's, but with his face cleanshaven like this, he looked so young. As much as she liked his hair, his eyes were easily his best feature. If she let herself, she could easily get lost in them. She had been so relieved yesterday to see those beautiful blue eyes of his when he opened them.

The room was surprisingly quiet as the minutes ticked by, the only noise was Mike's slightly labored breathing. She hated to wake him, but she had promised to wake him up in fifteen minutes. Paige lightly brushed her fingers over the hair falling on his forehead, "Mike," Paige murmured, giving into her earlier temptation. If he told her five more minutes, she'd call down to HQ herself and cancel his meeting.

He slowly opened his eyes and blinked at her a few times. "You're here."

"I said I'd stay." It was the least she could do after abandoning him yesterday. Maybe if she had stayed, he wouldn't have checked himself out AMA.

Mike stared up at her for a few moments and she softly smiled at him, as she gently ran her fingers through his hair. A comfortable silence fell over them and his eyes closed again. He sighed, clearly relaxed. For a second she wondered if he was going to fall back asleep.

"I should get going." Mike eased himself up from the sofa and started heading towards the coat closet. He reached for his jacket and tried slipping it on.

"Let me." Paige helped him with his jacket and then nodded outside, indicating that she would help him make his way to his car.

Mike slid his arm around her like it was the most natural thing in the world as he leaned on her for support. Paige lightly held onto him and remained silent as she helped him outside. She bit her lower lip every time he grimaced, wishing there was something she could do to ease his pain. Maybe she was mad at him right now, but she didn't want him hurting.

She escorted him to his car and he leaned against it. His shirt wasn't soaked in blood, that was a good sign, wasn't it? "I can drive you to HQ," Paige offered, lightly brushing her fingers over his.

"It's okay. I'm okay," Mike said. "I just need to sit down and I'll be fine."

Paige frowned as she watched Mike ease himself into his car. He was clearly in pain, but too stubborn to say so. Mike sat down and took a deep breath before tightly smiling.

"If they take your picture, you better have a better smile than that."

Mike laughed and groaned again, clutching his side. "I'll see what I can do."

THE END


End file.
